


Homesick

by IveGotRedHair



Category: All Time Low
Genre: Coughing, Fever, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-19
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 14:51:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4610847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IveGotRedHair/pseuds/IveGotRedHair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex gets really sick on tour for the first time and begins to feel homesick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homesick

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys,   
> A few notes for the beginning of this one.   
> This is set early on in their touring days somewhere around '05 '06. Also Keith in their manager who's sometimes on tour with them. I hope you enjoy!

It all started with a sore throat. A stupid little sore throat that Alex thought a bit of rest and honey tea could cure. But of course life of the road was never going to be that easy. 

He was curled up in his seat in the back of the van, a packet of tissues in his lap and his hoodie pulled tight around his body. He was trying to sleep, his head against the cool window but he couldn’t quite drum out the sound of his fellow band mates chatting. Alex groaned and coughed into his arm. 

It wasn’t long before he felt the seat beside him move as Jack returned to his usual spot beside his best friend.   
“You okay Alex?”   
“Don’t feel well,” he mumbled.   
“You don’t?”  
Alex shook his head and coughed again, his hand covering his mouth.   
“Can I take your temperature?” Jack asked.   
Alex moved away from the window and let Jack put his wrist to his forehead.   
“Christ, you feel really warm. Matt come down here, I think Alex has a fever.”   
There was some shuffling about and the next time Alex opened his eyes Matt was sitting where Jack had been, pressing his cold hand to his overheated skin.   
“Shit Alex, why didn’t you say you were sick?”   
“Didn’t feel this bad…”   
Matt sighed, out any of the band Alex was by far the most stubborn and the last to admit anything was wrong.   
“What are your other symptoms?” Matt asked.  
“Sore throat, cough, kinda stuffy and a headache,” Alex listed off.   
“Do you feel sick at all? Because I don’t want you throwing up everywhere.”   
Alex shook his head.   
“We’ll stop soon and get you some medicine, but for now just try and sleep okay?”   
“What did ya think I was trying to do?” Alex asked as he gave a weak cough into a tissue.   
“Okay we’ll try and keep it down, just try and get some rest.”   
Alex nodded and went back to curling up in his seat. Jack came back with a blanket and a bottle of water which Alex gratefully accepted. 

The next time Alex woke up it was to the smell of cherry cough syrup under his nose.   
“Go away,” he whispered, trying to bury himself more into the blanket.   
“Come on ‘Lex, you need to take something.”   
Alex opened his eyes to Jack holding out a cup of pink looking medicine. He was about to argue that he didn’t need any but a painful chesty cough ripped through his chest. Jack rubbed his back until the fit had subsided.   
“Medicine now?” Jack offered.   
Alex nodded and swallowed all the pink gloop, nose scrunching slightly at the taste.   
“How are you feeling?” Jack asked.   
“Like shit, everything’s stuffy and achy.”   
“Matt said you probably have the flu, it’s been going around the other bands,” Jack said.   
“Oh great,” Alex sighed, staring out of the window. They’d been in the middle of nowhere when he’d fallen asleep and now a city was on the horizon.   
“Where are we?”   
“Somewhere outside of Cleveland. We’ve actually got a hotel for tonight so you can get some proper rest” Jack said, he didn’t mention that Matt had rung nearly every hotel in the city trying to find them some rooms so the sick boy wouldn’t have to spend the night in the van.   
“Bed sounds grand, I’m fucking freezing,” Alex complained, tugging the blanket more around his shoulders.   
“Matt brought a thermometer, I should probably take your temperature,” Jack said.   
Alex agreed and let Jack slip the device under his tongue. The sound of it’s beeping did nothing to help Alex’s pounding head.   
“102.3, shit Alex that’s high!”   
“My mum always said I used to run high fevers,” Alex sniffed.   
“Just don’t burst into flames or something.”   
Alex tried not to laugh but failed and ended up coughing again.   
“Ew, I really don’t feel well,” Alex groaned.   
“Come here.”  
Jack opened his arms and let Alex lean against his chest, Jack put his arms around Alex’s waist and held him. He’d known Alex since high school and knew how much of a softy he could get when he was under the weather. 

The last few hours into Cleveland passed relatively easily, Alex falling asleep in Jack’s arms and leaving Jack unable to move from his spot. Not that anyone really minded, he meant he missed his chance of driving but Jack wasn’t exactly what you’d called the safest driver…   
“We’re nearly there, how’s he doing?” Rian asked.   
Having finished his turn behind the wheel he’d come to see how the singer was doing, he’d only had to follow the sound of snoring.   
“He’s been asleep for awhile but he still feels way too hot,” Jack replied, too hot may have been a bit of an understatement as Alex felt like a fucking oven.   
“Hopefully some proper rest and medicine will be enough, we’ve never had to cancel a show before,” Rian said.   
It was true they’d never had to back out of show before, they’d come close a couple of times; like the time Zack had nearly broken his arm why skateboarding or when Jack himself had had a stomach bug, though he’d still managed to get on stage, even if there had to be a bucket near by.   
“I guess time will tell,” Jack said as Alex coughed in his sleep.   
Rian and Jack continued talking quietly, making sure not to wake their sick friend. Rian pointed out it was Hey Monday’s fault that Alex was sick. Their singer Cassadee had been sick the week before and had somehow spread it through the entire tour.   
“I’m going to talk to her,” Rian said.   
“Really?”   
“Well she’s pretty I hmm…”  
“You want to ask her out!”   
“Shh, don’t wake Alex, but yes I want to ask her out.”   
“Rian and Cassadee sitting in a tree…”   
“Jack, stop teasing Rian about his girlfriend, we’re here,” Matt called from the front seat.   
“She’s not my…”   
“Rian, no one cares,” Matt said.   
Rian grumbled a reply and made his way off the van, leaving Jack with a very sick Alex to try and move. It took a lot of effort, complaining and coughing but they finally got Alex out of the van. As they stood in the hotel lobby he was attached to Jack’s side, head resting on his shoulder and leaning most of his weight against Jack’s slim body.   
“Right, we’re all going to have to share rooms as I couldn’t get us all our own, due to hmm short notice. Rian you go with Zack, I’ll be with Keith and Jack you stay with Alex being he seems to be all but attached to you.”   
They all nodded and took their respective keys, Zack helping Jack with the bags as Alex was just refusing to let him go. Once inside the room Alex went straight to collapse on the bed but Jack stopped him.   
“I wanna sleep,” Alex whined, his voice sounding all clogged up.   
“I know but I think you should have a shower first.”   
“Are you saying I smell?”   
“I’m saying it might help cool you down a bit,” Jack said.   
“Okay,” Alex sniffed.   
Alex went off to the tiny bathroom why Jack tried to remember what Matt had said about what medicine to give him.   
The shower hadn’t really helped and had just left Alex a shivering mess so he was sat in the bed wearing one of Jack’s hoodies with the good pulled up and the duvet around his shoulders.   
“Do you think I could take your temperature again?” Jack asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and trying to unbury Alex from the mountain of blankets.   
“Suppose so,” he mumbled, moving the covers away from his face.   
Jack placed the device under Alex’s tongue and waited for the thing to bleep. It was strange for Alex to be so dependent on Jack, or anyone for that matter. For him to be so vulnerable was nearly unheard of and it worried Jack.   
“102, well it’s gone down a tiny bit. How are you feeling?”   
“Horrible, I can’t remember the last time I felt this bad,” Alex croaked.   
“I’m sorry you don’t feel well ‘Lex.”   
Alex just coughed and curled up on himself.   
“Do you need anything else?” Jack asked, placing a bottle of water by the side of the table.  
“Cuddles?” Alex asked.   
He sounded so pathetic and miserable that Jack couldn’t deny him. He climbed under the duvet with Alex and let the ill boy cuddled into his side.   
Jack had always known Alex was a cuddler when he was ill, it was just something he’d never grown out of. Jack didn’t mind of course, he loved a cuddle, he did wish his best friend wasn’t so ill though. Being sick was always horrible but being sick miles from home in a town you don’t know is worse. 

When Alex woke up he was alone. Jack had gone from his position as pillow, Alex tried to call for him but his voice failed and he was left coughing. Urgh, how had he gotten so ill so quickly? Sure he’d been a bit run down the day before but now the idea of standing up was enough to make him dizzy. The last time he’d been this ill he’d been at home, in his own bed watching crappy movies why Jack filled him in about the days of school he’d missed. As much as Alex loved being on the road and touring there was nothing that made him miss home more than being sick. He tried not to think about home as it meant him feel sick in a whole different way.   
“Hey ‘Lex, you awake?”   
Alex cracked an eye open to see Jack standing above him holding a bowl of something.   
“I went to get some food and well they had soup, I thought you might want some.”   
“Oh thanks.”  
Alex managed to sit up without coughing again and Jack placed the bowl in his lap.   
“I think it’s chicken but I’m not sure, the lady serving had a very heavy Italian accent,” Jack said.   
“I can’t taste anything so it doesn’t really matter,” Alex sniffed.   
“Well enjoy, the other guys say to feel better soon but no offence they’re not coming anywhere near you till you stop coughing up your guts.”   
“I have such great friends.”   
“You’ve got me,” Jack smiled.   
“Yeah I do… But this is so not chicken.”  
Jack laughed Alex continued to eat, the hot soup was actually helping with his sore throat. He was always thankful for Jack for taking care of him but he still couldn’t help but miss home.   
“Pity we don’t have any of your mum’s homemade stuff, I swear she could could cure anything with it,” Jack said.   
“Yeah,” Alex mumbled in agreement.   
“Hey, are you okay?”   
“I miss home.”   
Jack frowned and put his arm around Alex’s shoulders.   
“I know, I know being sick on tour sucks but it’ll be over soon and we can go back to getting into trouble.”   
Jack tried to lighten the mood but Alex just sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve.   
“How about I get back this tiny bed, we’ll put on whatever crappy movie they have in this place and make it just like home?” Jack offered.   
“Okay, can there be hot chocolate?” Alex asked.   
“And I’ll even see if there’s hot chocolate.”  
Alex smiled, not quite enough to show his dimples but one Jack knew meant he was feeling a little bit better.   
They ended up both squished in Alex’s single bed, both duvets on top of them; as though Alex’s fever still sat at 102 he was claiming to be freezing and Jack couldn’t deny those puppy dog eyes. Jack had managed to require some hot chocolate, it had taken some yelling as it was obvious the Italian lady didn’t speak very well. Also the only film they seemed to have was some Robert Downey Jr flick about a girl trying to find the man of her dreams and of course it was set in Italy.   
“Feeling better?” Jack asked.   
“Well my chest still aches and my nose is still stuffed and I’m still freezing but yeah I feel better,” Alex replied.   
“Good, because if you get me sick I expect the same level of care.”   
“But everyone knows you’re a nightmare when you’re sick…”   
“Hey!”   
Alex laughed which turned into a rather painful coughing fit.   
“I want to kill who ever gave me this flu,” he grumbled.   
“I think Rian’s already got that sorted.”  
Jack proceeded to explain about Rian and the Hey Monday singer Cassadee until Alex eventually fell asleep. The details of Rian’s love life really were that exciting. Jack hoped to be able to get into his own bed but Alex was so tightly attached to his side it didn’t seem likely, even if the same was cramped and overly hot with Alex’s fever. As Jack drifted off to sleep himself he hoped that would be the end of it, Alex would feel better by morning and with a few more days of filling him full of medicine and everything would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow more notes!   
> I have a bit of idea for a part two, would you guys like that?   
> Also I don't know if any of you listen to Full Frontal but in this weeks episode they took some emails from fans and they read mine!! I was the Emma who asked for drinking advise :')   
> Thanks for reading! Xx


End file.
